Chapter 9 - Problems faced by the Subcontinent in 1940-1947

Lahore Resolution:

In %%1940%%, the %%Lahore Resolution%% of Mr. Jinnah was adopted.
He was the most prominent leader of the ML.
At first %%Jinnah was not in favour of a separate Muslim homeland%% and believed that Muslims might live comfortably in a federation of India with maximum provincial autonomy. * But the %%INC rule of 1937 – 1939 greatly changed his views%% about the future of Indian Muslims. * He presided over the historic session of ML on 22nd March 1940 in which %%Maulvi Fazal ul Haq presented a resolution demanding that “Regions in which the Muslims are numerically a majority, as in the NW and Eastern zone of India, should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constitutional units shall be autonomous and sovereign.”%%
The resolution was unanimously passed on %%23rd March, 1940.%% * This marked the %%start of active struggle for Pakistan%% that was achieved after only seven years. * A remarkable feature of Lahore Resolution is that it demanded for both NW and NE Muslim majority provinces whereas Iqbal and Ch Rehmat Ali had focused on NW provinces only. * It gave Muslims a visible goal for which they started their struggle under the leadership of Jinnah.

The Cripps Mission:

In %%1942%%, the Cripps Mission brought the idea of the “%%Union of India%%” comprising the British Indian provinces and the princely states. * In the proposed union, almost all ministers were to be Indians. * The plan allowed any province/provinces to opt out of the Union.
However, Jinnah rejected the plan as he was not satisfied with the “%%opting out clause%%”. * The clause did not state the political status of the opting out provinces.

* Therefore, Jinnah wanted a more clear and specific mention of Pakistan.

Followed by the Cripps Mission Plan, Jinnah made an important achievement in the %%Gandhi-Jinnah talks of 1944.%% * Though the talks failed, Jinnah scored many points. * Gandhi had come to Jinnah to hold talks as he had recognized him as major leader. * The INC for the first time, negotiated with the ML on an equal footing. * Mr. Jinnah stood firm on his stance and did not accept any suggestion of the withdrawal of the demand for Pakistan. * Gandhi’s conditional acceptance of Pakistan was the main outcome of these talks. * Jinnah rejected Gandhi’s proposal of first launching a joint struggle for independence and later settling the issue of Pakistan.

The Quit India Resolution:

In %%May 1942%%, Gandhi addressed an INC meeting in Allahabad and sharply criticised the lack of compliance shown by the British during the negotiations of the %%Cripps Mission Plan%%. * He urged the INC to start a non-violent protest against the British.
On %%8th August 1942%%, the Quit India Resolution was passed, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the British from India. * This led to widespread riots in several parts of India, and the British retaliated with full force.

The Gandhi Jinnah Talks:

After Gandhi was released from jail, he wrote to Jinnah to hold talks with him about the future of India.
Jinnah accepted it and invited Gandhi at his home in Bombay.
Several rounds of talk hiss were held in June, %%1944%%. * The talks showed Gandhi’s acknowledgement of Jinnah as a major leader. * He also suggested joint struggle of INC and ML after which the partition of India could be discussed. This shows his %%conditional acceptance of Pakistan.%%

However, the talks had %%more failures than successes.%% * Gandhi insisted on being treated as an ordinary Indian but this irritated Jinnah’s legal mind as for him Gandhi was only an INC spokesman. * Gandhi also rejected the two nation theory by saying that a community couldn’t become a nation just by changing religion. * Majority of Indian Muslims were local converts from Hinduism or Sikhism. * Jinnah asked for keeping the defence and foreign affairs under the provincial governments in case of a united India. * So the talks ended in a deadlock.

The Simla Conference:

By June %%1945%%, the WWII was nearing end and British were now determined to leave India.
%%Viceroy Lord Wavell%%, after consulting with the British government, drafted the %%Wavell Plan%%.
The plan was discussed in the %%Simla Conference in June-July 1945.%%
The ML delegation included %%Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan and Abul Kalam Azad, the INC President.%%
Lord Wavell unfolded the plan of an %%interim Executive Council (government) comprising equal number of Hindu and Muslim ministers.%%
%%All parties agreed%% on the idea of the Executive Council, and the independence of India.
However, %%Gandhi insisted on nominating Hindus as well as some Muslim ministers.%% * Inclusion of Azad was aimed at conveying the message that INC too represented Muslims. * Jinnah replied that %%ML alone was a party of all Muslims%% as it had been winning almost all by elections for the Muslim seats during the last 3 years. * Jinnah also %%objected to equal number of Hindu and Muslim ministers by pointing towards other non-Muslim minorities.%% If those minorities allied themselves with INC, Muslims would remain a minority. * The %%session ended without any success%% and Wavell admitted failure of the conference on 14th July, 1945.

The 1945-46 Elections

The %%Labour Party won a massive and unexpected victory%% in the 1945 General Election.
It won %%393 seats against the Conservative Party that won only 197 seats.%%
The %%party was opposed to imperialism%% and eager to promote independence for India following the election.
Thus the signs for an independent state of some kind looked very positive.
However, there was a problem, since the new government was pro- Congress and Gandhi, so %%partition was most unlikely%% and instead the favoured route was for a federal India rather than two separate states

The Cabinet Mission Plan:

In %%March 1946%%, members of the %%British Cabinet Mission arrived in India to work out a plan for achieving independence for India as a federation.%% * The Mission met with some %%470 Indian leaders%% but %%Jinnah stuck firm to his stance that partition was the only way forward as far as the Muslims were concerned.%%
Once the plans for groupings the provinces were known, the ML accepted the plan as long as the groupings were to be compulsory. * Congress however refused to accept the groupings and that they would not be bound by any British plan.
The British government decided to form %%an Interim Government headed by Nehru of Congress.%% * Eventually members of the ML joined it too.

Direct Action Day:

The %%ML got worried that the British would leave India without organizing a settlement%% and didn’t want Congress to be left in charge of organizing a new country. * Thus the %%ML organised a Direct Action Day in the summer of 1946%% in an attempt %%to stop the British government giving in to Congress.%% * Rioting on a massive scale took place and thousands died.
The %%British got increasingly worried that civil war would ensue%% and gradually a %%change of mind grew over partition.%% * In %%February 1947 came the announcement by Attlee that the British would leave the sub-continent by 1948%% and the subsequent violence in the Punjab in March 1947 that convinced Nehru that partition should take place quickly. * This was formalized in the %%3rd June Plan of 1947%% in which Mountbatten, the new Viceroy brought about partition in August 1947.

The Radcliffe Award:

%%Mountbatten appointed a Boundary Commission under Sir Cyril Radcliffe to draw the boundary line between India and Pakistan.%%
Radcliffe had four assistants, %%two nominated by the ML and two by the INC.%%
The %%Radcliffe Award was announced on 16th August 1947.%%
The ML was disappointed as Calcutta in Bengal and the Muslim majority districts of Frozepur and Gurdaspur in Punjab were given to India. * %%Gurdaspur%% provided a land route to India to have access to Kashmir.
%%Jinnah unwillingly accepted the Award.%%

The Independence Act:

It was %%passed on 15th August 1947%% and %%stated that from that day India would be partitioned into two Dominion states: India and Pakistan.%% * Each state would be totally free to make any laws it wished. * The %%1935 Act would serve as the interim constitution%% till both the states had framed their own constitutions.
%%Pakistan adopted 14th August%% and %%India 15th August as the Independence Day.%%